Adoption

Request an Original Birth Certificate (OBC)

I was adopted, can I obtain an original birth record?

Public Act 96-0895, which became effective May 21, 2010 makes it possible for an adult adoptee or surrendered person born in Illinois, who is 21 years or older, to request a noncertified copy of his or her original birth. This act also allows birth parents of adopted or surrendered persons born on or after January 1, 1946, to specify their wishes with regard to contact and to the release of their identifying information.

I am the birth parent of an adopted person, can I obtain a copy of the original birth record?

Public Act 98-0704, which became effective January 1, 2015, makes it possible for a birth mother or birth father of an adult adopted person born in Illinois to request a non-certified copy of the original birth record as it was filed at the time of the birth.